A Poor Trade
by Tarex
Summary: 2: Set three years after the first, Estel finds himself back in Mirkwood, and on the hunt for several elves that went missing all those years before.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

There were very few clouds in the sky. The light that hit the edge of the woods, however, stopped short. It was midday, but it could easily have been mistaken for night just a short walk into the trees. Sitting in one of the few trees that still had daylight touching it's trunk, was a young man. He sat high enough that he had a good view of the horizon, but low enough that he could jump from where he sat without injury if he landed properly. He was easily out of sight of anyone who could walk below him, yet easy enough to spot for someone looking for him. His silver eyes scanned the horizon every few seconds; diligently searching for the two he was waiting for. He swung his legs idly, hands gripping the gnarled branch on either side of him. A faintly worried expression was written across his features, but he was trying his best to mask it with a look of boredom.

He sighed, carefully drawing himself up to his feet on the wide branch. Slowly shifting his weight as he stretched, he cast his gaze over the land once again. He was supposed to meet his brothers here. They were doing a tracking exercise. Or rather the opposite. The human teenager had started off near the base of the Misty Mountains and wove his way towards the edge of Mirkwood. He had tried to convince his brothers to let him start at home, but they had refused to allow him to pass over the mountains alone.

The young man stretched one last time, several stiff joints popping as he did so. He had been sitting in his chosen spot for several hours. He knew he had the advantage in this situation, and he had taken great care to move quickly but leaving as little trace as he could past the few small objects he had left behind him. That was part of the challenge. After all, his twin brothers knew where he would end up, so to be sure the two of them actually tracked their younger brother rather than simply cutting to the known destination, they were to gather three of his possessions on their way here.

He yawned and settled himself back onto the branch. His brothers moved far more quickly than he could, and they had the advantage of horses, while he had gone off on foot. Though he prided himself on his tracking, he knew he couldn't fool an elf. Not yet, at least. He was convinced he would be able to do so eventually, but he didn't delude himself into thinking he'd been able to lose his brothers on this trip.

Blinking suddenly, he frowned, focusing his gaze on a small spot in the distance. Fire? Leaping to his feet once more, he narrowed his eyes, bringing one hand up to shade them. His previous worry flared as he anxiously scanned the surrounding area. He had passed that way earlier. His brothers would have followed him. Something had held them up. Though he was much too far away to smell whatever it was that was burning, his imagination dreamt up the scent of burnt orc. He shuddered sharply and tore his gaze away for a moment, clearing his head. Peering back to the small spot, he felt a sense of relief flood him. He could barely make out three small specks in the distance; the three horses. Two of the dark blotches against the grass appeared slightly larger than the last, and he sunk back onto the branch with a sigh, knowing that it was his brothers' figures that made them appear so. He glanced back to them and raised a hand in a wave. He could barely make out the dark spots in the distance, but he knew they could see him just fine.

His quick movements a moment ago had been brought out by instinct and fear. Now he moved carefully once again, shifting himself from his sitting position to lay on his stomach along the thick branch. He crossed his legs behind him and let his arms hang. Sighing once more, he shut his eyes, finally allowing himself to relax. Even so his other senses were trained on the woods around him. The trees harbored foul creatures, and though it wasn't likely to see any at the edge of the forest, one could never be too careful. The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly, ready to snap up and draw his sword should the need arise.

It was a while before the three horses - only two of which bearing riders - reached the young man. They stood silent for a moment before the teenager in the trees opened his eyes and peered down at them. The amused grin that had started across his face instantly dissolved into a look of worry. Hopping up to balance himself on his haunches, he pushed off the branch and hit the ground in a roll; absorbing the impact. He had been high enough that had he landed on his feet, the chances of breaking something were high. He rolled right onto his feet and turned to face the two identical elves on the horses. One of them had gone white at his stunt, the other peered at him with an expression of disapproval mixed with pain. The pain being what had worried the young man in the first place. He looked the pained one over from where he stood before walking a quick circle around him, stopping to examine his right leg. The cloth had been torn and the bruises were already staining the skin.

"You broke it?" His voice was deep and slightly strained. "How? What happened out there?"

The elf with the broken leg glanced down at the teenager and sighed, "Estel, I'm fine. We ran into a group of orcs last night... they had wargs, one of them fell on me, that's all."

The young man, Estel, shook his head, frowning at the injured elf, "Elrohir, I'd hardly call that fine." His voice had grown firm, healers instincts instantly taking over. He'd only been training with his father in the healing arts for a few years, but he was learning fast.

The second elf, who had gone white when the human had jumped from the tree now let out a short laugh, a grin splitting his face, "You would hardly call it fine, hmm? I care to differ. You could break every bone in your body and still claim to be fine, brother."

Estel turned his frown in the other elf's direction, "Elladan." His voice held the same tinge of warning their fathers held when any one of them made light of their injuries.

Elladan, the elder of the twin elves, instantly shut his mouth; then frowned at himself for doing so, but decided to remain quiet.

Elrohir sighed, "Listen. Standing here is not going to help us any, so shall we just head home?"

"No." Estel frowned at his brother, shaking his head, "The bone isn't set properly, it needs to be fixed. Riding is only going to do more damage, and it will pain you. We need to find somewhere to settle until the bone has knitted sufficiently. Ro... you should know that."

"You sound more and more like ada with every lesson you take with him," Elrohir muttered. Though his tone was irritated, his eyes showed the pride that the elf had in his adopted brother.

"Where do you propose we go, Estel?" Elladan frowned down at him.

The young man frowned and glanced from the direction of the smoke to the woods behind him, "As far as I can see we have two choices. We can head back towards Lothlorien, or..." he glanced behind himself once more, "we can go through there."

Both elves frowned instantly, as if they were one, the spoke in unison, "Lorien."

Estel glanced up at them thoughtfully, then turned his gaze down to his brothers leg, "We are much closer to King Thranduil's land. Ro's leg wont be able to hold up well on the trip to Lorien." His tone had lost its firmness and was now simply flooded with concern for his brother.

"Mirkwood is dangerous..." Elladan glanced at his twin, unsure. "You wouldn't be able to hold your own in a fight either if we came across a nest."

Estel shuddered inwardly, but did not allow it to show, "Yet we know there are orcs between here and Lorien. He would fare better against spiders than them. We are at the forests edge nearest the walls of the palace anyhow. It is more unlikely that we run into spiders on a shorter trip than we would run into orcs during the several days trip to Lorien." He sighed, finally admitting; "I ran into a smaller group of orcs on the way here as well. I was lucky I was able to skirt around them without being detected, but there are obviously many of them in that area right now. It isn't safe to pass back that way."

The twins were quiet, unsure, as they thought through their younger brothers argument. Elrohir's wince when his horse shifted its weight, however, made up his twins mind.

"Fine. We'll head through Mirkwood. It's a short trip from here, there will be no stopping. Move quickly and quietly, and Estel," Elladan paused to glance at his brother worriedly, "don't take your eyes off of us. It is far too easy for mortals to get lost in these woods."

Estel smiled and shook his head. He stepped up to the stray horse that had been following his brothers, took hold of its mane, and vaulted onto the black animals back.

"Lead on," He quipped, motioning towards the trees.

The three, with Elladan slightly ahead, flanked the injured elf and nudged the reluctant animals into the woods.

_**A/N**_

J0! Hokay, so here's to Hello Anyone There, who's pm made me go "huh... I should do that" and this is what came of it. (BTW, I didn't end up getting the underglows... turns out they're illegal... go figure, lol)

Thanks to Poetic Tragedy3790, OrlandosLover2009, Mogs, FireChildSlytherin5, and Firebender01 as well for all the constructive criticism and whatnot X3 it was very much appreciated... even if it has taken me this long to say so, haha.

I had fully intended to continue writing after that first story right away... then I got dragged into reading manga and all else came to a stand-still. Spent way too money on it already... not that that'll stop me, lol.

So yeah... I can't promise it'll update as quickly as you may like it to... and I'm sorry the first chapter's so short... but I'll TRY for once a week. I'm working full time now, so by the time I get home I'm dead already. Also, I've been role-playing on gaia a whole heckuva lot recently, so that's taking up my time as well.

I should also say that I have no plan for this one oo... kinda just going with the flow here... so any ideas/suggestions would be insanely helpful XD (Also, it needs a name .)

Thank ya thank ya, and hope you like. :3


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Estel shuddered slightly, his back straight as could be as they moved through the dark, musty forest. He smiled weakly to himself. The spiders again... he had nearly forgotten his fear of the creatures. His eyes shifted to pierce his brothers with a glare. They had instilled that fear in him before he'd ever even seen the arachnids. Indeed, lucky for him, he still hadn't.

"You look nervous, brother." Elladan smirked slightly.

"Ah... who's fault is that?" Estel grumbled, focusing his glare on the elder twin.

Elladan shrugged, turning his gaze forward again, "It isn't our fault you were so amusing when we told you all those stories."

"Well, I'm glad someone enjoyed them."

"Aw, don't be like that," the elf laughed. Elrohir just rolled his eyes, biting back a laugh of his own. Despite his attempts, the pain still showed on his face.

Estel fell quiet, not responding to his brothers jab. His silver eyes flashed from one tree to the next, carefully examining every one of them that he could see clearly. It was impossibly dark beneath the dense canopy.

Elladan watched him, falling silent himself, worried. He and any other elf who had travelled with the young man had realized that Estel was more susceptible to sensing anything amiss than the teenager realized. The elf took his brothers unease as a warning and trained his senses on the forest around them.

The young mans black horse snorted sharply, reacting unhappily to his masters discomfort. It tossed it's head, ears twitching back in displeasure.

Estel patted the horses neck absentmindedly, shifting slightly and sighing. He shook his head, but his right hand had come to rest against the pommel of his sword. He glanced at his brothers out of the corner of his eye and realized that they had slowed, their faces blank.

"What?"

"Something's not right..." Elladan murmured, gripping his sword hilt for a moment before reaching over his shoulder for his bow.

"It's too quiet..." Elrohir added, nodding slightly. He didn't move for his sword as his brothers did, instantly easing his own bow around, knocking an arrow into place.

Estel stiffened and his horse stopped dead in its tracks. He swung his leg over its back and dropped to the ground, the dead leaves cracking beneath his feet, making him wince. He already held his bow, and an arrow hung loosely between the fingers of his right hand.

The chestnut horse Elladan was sitting on suddenly backed up sharply, emitting a sharp squeal of fear. The elf struggled to calm the animal, but recognized that it was a lost cause and leapt to the ground, allowing it to spin and bolt in the opposite direction. He turned to see that Elrohir had done the same, balancing himself on his good leg, his jaw clenched tight. The dappled grey followed the two other horses towards the edge of the forest, it's pace suggesting that it's rider had simply allowed it to go rather than being forced to do so. Elladan turned and placed his back against his brothers, offering him extra support.

Estel eyed the younger twin uneasily when Elrohir suddenly lifted the bow and released the arrow. Bewildered, the human's gaze snapped over as a squeal and a thud revealed the massive spider. It fell on it's back, legs curling into it's bloated body, twitching. Estel took a step back, readying his arrow, a garbled noise of shock rising in his throat.

It was only seconds later that the horde of spiders began dropping from the trees with angry screeches. Several fell instantly from the combined arrows of the three bows, but the brothers were quickly forced to abandon the weapons in favor of their swords.

Estel assessed the situation instantly. One, the twins were immobile. Elrohir couldn't move well, and Elladan was supporting him. Two, the teenager was between the majority of the spiders and his brothers. Three, the two elves were already in deep, trying to protect themselves from their awkward position. The young man narrowed his eyes and gripped his sword hilt tightly, swinging the blade across in a swift arc into the nearest creatures head, slicing straight through it. Estel groaned in disgust as the thick yellow liquid that was already covering everything. He moved constantly, aiming for their heads. A rather small target, but it was the only spot he could hit them that seemed to kill them right away. If he couldn't get a shot at their heads, he slashed at them where he could, trying to keep their attention away from his brothers as best he could.

Not being as careful as he should have, it wasn't long before one of the spiders managed to get past his defense and sunk it's fangs into his left arm. Estel cursed sharply and jerked his arm down, cutting the creatures head off with a quick swing of the sword. He grit his teeth, the strange numbing sensation was already beginning to spread along his arm. He knew full well what the spiders venom did, and that it didn't take particularly long to finish its work.

He heard a worried cry from one of the twins and simply shook his head in response. He had to concentrate. He knew he was in a bad spot, be he realized that being bitten again would only make things twice as bad. Estel forced himself to move faster, the heavy double-edged sword screaming through the air. He suddenly had a split seconds flashback from when he had told the Prince of Mirkwood that he would be putting more effort into his studies three years earlier. He nearly laughed at the thought. He had done exactly as he said he would, and his progress had been incredible, in particular his swordsmanship had become much better... as had his tracking skills.

It took him a moment, standing entirely still without meeting another spider, before he realized that they were all dead. He glanced at the bodies, then did a double-take, examining several with strange arrows piercing them. He kicked one of the still twitching creatures and shivered, turning to look his brothers over.

The two elves stood with grins on their faces, eyes locked onto something in the trees near their young mortal brother. Elladan's face suddenly snapped back to an expression of worry, as if he'd suddenly remembered something. Making sure his twin was balanced, he darted the short distance to the teenager and took hold of his arm.

"Estel!" He gasped, exasperated, "What did you do that for? We could have held our own just fine. Now look at you."

"Yes, yes," Estel smirked, glancing into the trees in confusion before shrugging and locking gazes with his brother, "Of course you could. No matter, what's done is done. Now. Is there anything we can do about this, or am I going to have to wait for it to wear off?" He shook the arm his brother was holding slightly.

Elladan opened his mouth to answer, but found himself cut off.

"No, it's doubtful your brother has anything to help you, but I do," the voice sounded amused.

Estel eyed the tree line warily, "I'm sorry, it should be noted that due to the fact that I'm not an elf, I can't see you... would you be so kind as to move within my sad little bubble of sight? You're making me nervous..." He blinked sharply and pressed a palm to the side of his head with a groan, "Dear Valar I feel like I'm about to fall over."

Elrohir frowned from where he stood, "Your high heart rate made the poison spread faster, Estel... breathe deeply, slowly, try to get it down."

The human simply nodded, frowning, "Ah... Uh, I think... I should sit down... before I really do fall down." He wavered, and Elladan quickly helped lower him to the ground.

"Such a short memory. Then, I barely recognized you. Has it only been three years?" The voice came again, and was followed shortly thereafter by the elf it belonged to.

Estel blinked up at the elf, his face blank, squinting slightly as he grumbled to himself, "It's rather difficult to see anything at the moment." He frowned, realizing his words were slurred, his motor functions were shutting down very quickly. "But I assume you're Prince Legolas, am I correct? You're the only one here that would bother to recognize me."

The elf prince frowned at the young man, and tossed a small pouch to Elladan, "Here, the berries help to counteract the poison. They wont help him get any better, but they'll keep him from getting worse until the venom wears off."

Elladan caught the bag and opened it, knowing what to expect. The blue-grey paste in the small pouch was meant to be spread on the roof of your mouth as well as over the bite. The dark-haired elf crouched next to his brother and calmly spread it over the wound, instructing the teenager on what to do with it once he was done, handing it to him. Estel peered at it curiously and did as he was told, wincing slightly at the bitter taste.

"It's almost as bad as Ada's tea," He mumbled, pressing the bag back into his brothers hands. He frowned suddenly, "Ro? You alright?"

The younger twin, who hadn't moved from where he was carefully balanced in one spot, watching his brother worriedly, suddenly scowled. He glared down at his young brother, despite knowing he probably wouldn't be able to make it out, "I'm perfectly fine. Meanwhile you can't see two feet in front of your face. Don't be worrying about me, you stubborn little brat."

Estel laughed slightly, "Well that's not fair... I'd say I have a good four foot range still." He held his arm out in front of himself, "I can still see my hand. I'm good."

The twins just groaned, Elladan standing as he did so. He made his way back over to Elrohir and helped him over, settling him to the ground next to the young man. Elrohir grit his teeth, shifting his position slightly and gently wrapping one arm around his brother.

Estel sighed, glancing over to the elf, "Honestly, I'll be fine. I've been bitten by worse things." He grinned, "Like that snake I accidently stepped on last year," he coughed slightly, embarrassed, "that hurt. This doesn't."

"You had a fever for a week if I remember correctly," Elladan stated flatly. He glanced over to the nearly forgotten elf standing at the edge of the trees, "Thank you, Legolas. You really saved our hides back there."

The blonde elf smiled and made his way closer once addressed, three other elves following him, "It was a good thing we were on patrol."

"Indeed," Elrohir shook his head slightly, "we're sorry to impose upon you like this. We hadn't expected to have to come this way."

"You're injured," Legolas stated, nodding, "and I don't believe it was from your skirmish with the spiders. You are perfectly welcome in our lands, my Lords."

Elrohir scowled, "Don't start with that, Prince."

Legolas laughed, "Yes, yes, I know." His gaze dropped to Estel, who was staring blankly into the trees. He frowned, tilting his head to the side, "Estel?"

The young man instantly snapped to attention, forcing his eyes to focus he turned to the elf, frowning slightly, trying to make him out. More or less, all he could really see at that distance was the faint glow the elf emitted in the dark. "Sorry? Did you say something?" He laughed nervously, "I can't seem to concentrate."

"No, nothing," the glow answered, worry in his voice, "is it still getting worse?"

"Not at all. It was this bad already," Estel winced, "it was a rather large one that got me."

The twins were watching their brother carefully, matching expressions of intense worry on their faces. "Estel..." they cut themselves off abruptly. Not because they were surprised to have spoken not only at the exact same moment but with the same pitch and tone to their voices, but because they couldn't quite find the right words to express their fear. The three silent elves that stood behind their prince blinked, surprised, but remained quiet. Legolas grinned.

The young human knew the tone though. He sighed, "How many times must I tell you, there's nothing to be afraid of? The venom isn't lethal and it'll wear off in a few hours. You know that better than I."

Legolas moved closer and knelt before the teenager, waving the other elves back when they moved with him. They looked somewhat nervous, eyeing the boy. They were still quite leery of men.

"The fear of a family member isn't always rational, is it?" He smiled, setting a hand on his shoulder, "Let them worry. If they're worried for you, they may not trouble me as much while you're here." He joked, his smile widening.

Estel laughed, "Don't count on it. They can't help themselves. They're far more irritating when they're worrying, actually." He eyed his brothers.

Elladan frowned, meeting his little brothers gaze, one eyebrow raised slightly. Elrohir just smirked, "Of course we are. It is our duty as your brothers to be sure you never have a moments peace." He tightened his hold on the young man, pulling him against his side.

Estel didn't bother resisting the tug, letting himself lean against his brother. He would probably end up falling over backwards soon if he didn't. He sighed, allowing his eyes to slide shut. If he kept them open, he kept trying to focus, and thus his headache kept getting worse. Or so he reasoned.

**A/N**

Whoo... sorry for the wait, I had most of it written a while ago, but I got caught up in the current gaia quest... *cough* I'm easily distracted. Finished writing it up tonight, and triiiiied to get it done quickly, so I hope I didn't mess anything up. I think the descriptive quality dropped here... I'm gonna have to try to pick it up again. I always do this D: the beginning is descriptive enough, and then I get lazy. Not as badly as I used to, happily. Role-playing has done wonders with that. Ish oh so much fun :3 *nod*

I got way distracted while I should have been writing a couple hours ago... looking up nerd movies to find out when they're coming out... Transformers 2 isn't coming out until the end of next July D: t3h sad. BUT, I discovered that there are gonna be two more Iron Man movies, BOO-YEAH! I so can't wait for those... sadly I must thought T_T... wait until some unknown date in 2010... cry. I mean... I knew they were gonna do something, but I didn't expect two more movies full of smexiness. Mmmmm... Robert Downey Jr..... lol, seriously though, hotness factor aside, he's a pwnage actor. Oh, and the newest Hulk movie is out later this month... I was pleasently surprised with that movie... wasn't expecting anything out of it, but it ended up being wonderfully awesome.

Elven Warrior Princess: Thanks for the invite, but I'm happy with this site right now. I'll keep it in mind for if I ever get more serious with my writing again, though ^^

Hello Anyone There: HAH, I had to go back and re-read my last story... I had forgotten most of what I'd written... X.x. I'd intended on the fight with the spiders actually, past that I was clueless, haha. Using the bandits again could work. Must make it more epic this time. Reading the last one felt... short. It was honestly rather anti-climactic, but like I said, I wanted to keep that one short, this one should last longer. I have a habit of making this too short, or too long, so if you think I ended something too soon, or think it needs to be wrapped up, let me know :3. There will be more banter in this one for sure, I didn't have enough time to put much in the last one.

The lights aren't TECHNICALLY illegal... but having them on is. O_o... yeah. I'm allowed to have them on the car, but I'm not allowed to turn them on while I'm on the road. HAH. They can be on when I'm off the streets only. What's the point then? D: I wanna show em off. If I'mma spend a bunch of money to be nerdy and put neons on my car I want people to see them darn it. XD So I figure I'll save my money and go buy an air freshener instead. Soft top = stuffy. But yeah, I absolutely adore that car. It runs amazingly well, and it's killer fun to drive. More of a city car, though. Took it up along the Coquihalla... this massive road through the mountains... was sluggish going up the hills... although... that may have been because it had every available nook stuffed with luggage of some sort XD. That being said, it's pretty darn good on gas too, lmao. I wuv my baby.

Thanks, Lady Akyrial, for the vote of confidence ^^ I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

.com/albums/kk182/AntiTarex/?action=view¤t;= -- I drew him today... I was quite pleased with my new chibi style XD I ain't a great artist, but I quite like him :P Can't see his fangs very well :( my scanner is evil and never works for me, so I use my webcam D: at least I found a use for it XD

So yeah! I'll catch you all laterz :3 I'll try to update sooner this time :P

Danke!

~Tare


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Estel moaned slightly as his eyes opened. His head felt heavy. He was stiff and his senses seemed to have been smothered. He was leaning against something warm. He couldn't see. That last one worried him. Where was he? What just happened? He felt cold... and rather damp.

"What the... I can't see," he muttered, slowly raising his hands to rub his eyes. He heard two soft laughs and a worried mutter.

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine, he's fine. Estel, it's dark, your eyes haven't adjusted."

The young man frowned, the first voice had reminded him of where he was. He cleared his throat, trying to ignore his embarrassment. "Sorry. Yes, I realize that now." He winced, forcing himself to hold his own weight. Even sitting it seemed somewhat difficult.

Elrohir watched his brother pull away from him and he tilted his head to the side slightly, shifting his position on the leaf-littered forest floor. "You're alright? You look like you're about to fall over sideways brother..."

"Yes, just fine. I'm just..." he paused as a wave of dizziness passed over him and he frowned, concentrating on keep the darkened image around him from growing even darker. "I'm just a little woozy it seems."

"I'll say." Elladan muttered from where he sat a short distance away, "You slept for a good hour Estel."

Estel groaned, burrying his face in his hands, "I'm sorry. I just... passed out."

Elrohir laughed and shifted again, moving so he'd be in a better position to catch his brother should he black out again, "It's perfectly alright Estel. You know how 'Dan gets when you worry him." The other twin growled something under his breath that made Legolas laugh.

Estel glanced between the three and sighed, "Well. Even so, we shouldn't stay here." He shuddered, rubbing his sore arm unconsciously, "There may be more."

Legolas watched the nervous young man, amused. He shook his head slightly but spoke in agreement, "He is right. We should leave. We've been pressing our luck staying here as long as we have. There's a patol nearby that will be heading back to the palace. We can meet up with them and head back."

Elladan nodded, "That would be best. It'll be slow going with these two the way they are, the more protection we can attain, the better."

Legolas smiled, glancing at the two wounded individuals that were both glaring at their elder brother, clearly unamused. "Come then. Follow me." The elf stood gracefully to his feet and waited for the two injured brothers to pull themselves up off the ground.

Elladan watched the two for a moment before standing and moving to help them up. He gripped his younger human brother by his good arm and hauled him up, making sure he was balanced before helping Elrohir up, being careful of his broken leg.

The younger twin grit his teeth, slowly placing his wounded leg on the ground. He paused a edged the tiniest amount of pressure onto it, only to instantly lean back with a muffled gasp.

Estel winced and glanced around himself, then strode to the edge of the near invisible path and began picking through the leaves and fallen branches. The three elves simply watched him. Legolas looked confused, keeping a careful eye on the man to make sure he didn't move out of their sight and get himself lost. The twins stared after him knowingly. Elrohir looked slightly relieved, Elladan looked as though he wished to follow his brother but remained behind to support his twin.

Estel grumbled to himself as he searched, tossing branches he considered too bent or short. "Darn trees here can't grow straight. This takes seconds at home..." he paused for a moment, suddenly aware of the fact that he or one of his companions have had to search for splints and crutches far too often. He sighed, having finally found a branch that would work well enough as a crutch and leaned his weight on it, finding it plenty sturdy. Finding the shorter branches was just as difficult. The crutch didn't have to be perfectly straight, but this needed to be as close as possible. Finding them soon enough though, he turned, and paused once again. Cursing, he shifted his weight to one leg, let his arms drop and sighed.

"I know you can see me. I can't see you." He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarassed. "Could you..." he trailed off with a wince. He didn't have time to finish as Legolas showed up at his side almost instantly. The young man started slightly and smiled weakly.

The blonde elf grinned, "Come."

Estel raised an eyebrow, looking the elf over as if he'd only just seen him for the first time. "You know... it's a common human saying, 'Don't go into the light.'" He tilted his head to the side, glancing up into the elfs faintly glowing face. He'd noticed at a young age when elves from the other realms would visit that the wood elves had a stronger light by far. Though despite his curiosity he was oddly unwilling to ask about it, and had simply accepted it as fact.

Legolas blinked, unsure as to whether the man was joking or not, but his face betrayed nothing. The elf mirrored his expression, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head, "I could leave you here."

The young man peered back at the elf, considering calling the wood elf on his bluff but just smirked instead. "You could, but you'd have to answer to my father for that one."

The elf bit back a laugh and nodded, "A fearful thought indeed. I don't like my chances. Men have many odd sayings, you're going to have to ignore that one for the time being."

Estel laughed, realizing that the Prince had no idea what the saying was referring to. "No, I think I'll continue to live by that one for now," he laughed. "But I see no problem in following one. Lead on, my friend."

"You're going to have to explain that to me one day." Legolas smiled, amused, and began leading the way quickly back to the two elves that waited back on the path. He looked oddly pleased.

Estel stumbled after him, conciously trying to keep quiet as he moved but doing a rather poor job of it. He huffed, frustrated, then shook his head and glanced up at the elfs back, "Perhaps, but you may not like it."

Legolas stopped and glanced over his shoulder, vague confusion passing over his features. The teenager was watching his feet, though, in an attempt to keep from tripping, and walked right into the elf.

"Gah... sorry." Estel winced, the slight impact made his head spin. He hadn't fully recovered from the spider venom.

Legolas didn't respond, instead he moved behind the young man and gently guided him forward. Estel just sighed, tossing the branch that was to be used as a crutch to the ground and kneeling next to his brother once they reached them. The young man glanced up without speaking, staring into the younger twins eyes for a moment, worried.

Elrohir simply smiled, though it looked somewhat forced, "Get on with it."

Estel nodded, "Alright." He gently probed his brothers leg, finding the break and nodding to himself. It hadn't been bad, and it didn't need setting, as he had figured. It didn't look as though the bone had moved, but they were risking far too much without splinting it. Estel snatched his pack from the ground next to him and began using the bandages to wrap the leg, providing a slight buffer between the rough branches and the elfs skin, then pressed the branches to either side of his leg and wrapped them into place as well. He leaned back and stared for a moment, frowning.

"Well... it isn't pretty, but it should do the trick for the time being."

Elrohir laughed, but his face was pale, "It doesn't need to look good. So long as it works." He reached over and picked up the branch his brother had brought and examined it, then used it to pull himself to his feet.

Estel nodded slowly, thoughtfully. "Well, we're just wasting time now. Let's get moving."

Elrohir smiled weakly, "May be slow going."

"You'll do fine," Elladan spoke up. He'd been very quiet since they'd entered the trees. His brothers glanced at each other worriedly. The elf frowned at the look they then leveled on him.

Estel smiled and edged closer to his brother, setting a hand on his arm and tilting his head to the side. "El, you need to settle down. Everyone's okay, there's nothing for you to worry about." The young human used the name the three brothers used for each other, they always knew who they were referring to.

Elladan sighed and shook his head, "I'm allowed to worry about the two of you. I worry twice as much when ada isn't here to help me with the job."

Elrohir grinned, "Well... let's face it, we get into this much trouble within our own borders. This is no different than usual."

"You aren't helping Elrohir."

Estel laughed, "Come on already! We keep stalling, we're never going to get anywhere." He paused, appearing suddenly startled, "Uhm... did the rest of your patrol leave?" He turned towards Legolas.

The elf prince laughed, "Human can be amusing sometimes, can't they? No, they're waiting in the trees." He stopped, amusement disappearing and he looked abruptly uncomfortable. "I hope you don't take offence, my young friend, but they don't... they don't want to be too close to you..."

Estel stood silently for a moment, simply staring back at the elf before he smiled. "Don't worry about it. I understand, what with what you've all been dealing with over the past few years... I'm terribly sorry my presense is causing unrest amongst your people."

Elladan grit his teeth, his muscles tightening and he began muttering under his breath. Quietly enough that his brother couldn't make out the words, but the nearby elves could. "They should respect the fact that he is a son of Lord Elrond. He's more elf than man."

Elrohir glanced sideways at his twin, clearly upset. Always the more emotional over diplomatic of the two, he didn't bother lowering his voice. "Ada would be... displeased... over the way his youngest was being treated."

Estel frowned, "I have no problem here, you shouldn't either. I don't want to create a problem where there is none." Another forced smile. "Besides, I'm used to this."

Elrohir winced and dropped his gaze. Elladan followed suit. It had always hurt the two to see their brother mistreated by their own people due to his being human.

Legolas narrowed his eyes and straightened, "I can promise you nothing will happen to your brother while he is here. I will personally watch out for him."

Estel raised an eyebrow and simply began walking down the path towards the gates. He glanced over his shoulder, smiling, "Thank you. I'll be fine, though, don't trouble yourself on my account."

The three elves on the path quickly followed after the young man.

"He... is quite mature for his age." Legolas looked unhappy, casting irritated glances into the trees. The three elves he had arrived with silently fell into step behind him.

"He was forced to be, really." Elladan growled, "Poor boy barely had a proper childhood... humans grow far too quickly..."

Elrohir sighed, dropping his gaze, "His tone changes when he doesn't know how to take something. When he's in an uncomfortable situation, he becomes... formal."

"I noticed that." Legolas nodded slowly, "I'm so sorry."

The twins didn't answer, simply concentrating on moving forward.

**A/N**

_BAH! I'm sorryyyyyyy!!!!!! Please don't be mad at me T_T... I know I've been really slow since I started this... Guess I jumped into it before I was really ready to. Not that I regret it, but you know :( I'm sorry. I honestly am gonna try to be better, but I can't promise anything . I'm a terribly lazy person._

_Hello Anyone There: ...*cough* Uhhm... D: Sowwy T_T. But yeah... my sister's terrified of spiders too... it's common for her to spend the night in someone elses room or in the living room on the couch cuz she had seen a spider in her room and then I couldn't find it to get rid of it for her, lol. I haven't finished writing it... I'm kinda... writing as I go. Sorry, I'd meant I'd only just finished writing that chapter and then posted it right away. I've hit a writers block already, but it was mostly due to being crazy tired. I haven't been sleeping well :( that and I've still got my role-play and another story that's just recently popped into my head._

_Don't remember which movies I mentioned... bunch of comic book movies right? Well, I'm a nerd. So basically if it's sci-fi or superhero it doesn't need to have a plot I'll enjoy it XD but no, recently there have been a lot of good ones. There's nothing wrong with explosions :P_

_It's a very stupid rule, but oh well. I don't drive a whole lot... especially recently, cuz the top was dirty so my dad went and cleaned it... now there's always condensation inside it .... I am... displeased. It never did that before. *sigh* Gonna have to wait for a few dry days (HAH, dry days in BC in fall/winter... yeah right.) and waterproof it._

_Estel is 17 now... I think D: But yeah. There really should be a law against the four of them being too close to each other at any given time._

_Again I'm really sorry about the waits... I've been bad :( I'm gonna try to get ahead a bit this weekend._

_asdfjkl;: I'm glad you like it, I'll try to work on those points. I have issues with continuity, I know XP sorry 'bout that. I get impatient with myself sometimes, lol. I end up moving too quickly... or too slowly, it seems, hah._

_SO YEAH! Sorry again . I'll try to do better... blah. Thanks for your reviews ^^ see ya!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

After his initial display, Estel fell into step with his brothers. Waves of lightheadedness came and went, but the more he pressed himself, the worse they became. He was quietly relieved their pace was as slow as it was, due to Elrohir's injury. He set a hand on his bandaged arm, knowing he'd have to take a look at the swelling once he had some light. It hadn't been cleaned before the paste had been spread, and he worried it would grow infected. He could still taste the bitterness of the berries in his mouth. Ada's tea didn't linger this long. Perhaps this was worse in its own way.

The silence was beginning to get to him as well. It was tense, unspoken words hanging in the air. The twins were unhappy, the only thing keeping them from taking their typical stance of displeasure, with arms crossed and brows seemingly permanently knitted together was that one had to hold onto the crutch and the other felt the need to hold onto the first. Legolas looked unhappy as well, but also strangely thoughtful, in the way one gets when trying to figure out a very difficult puzzle. It reminded Estel immediately of his lessons with Erestor back home when he was younger.

His companions stopped abruptly, and he faltered, turning to work out what had caused it. All six elves were staring in the same direction, and a moment later another four stepped out from amongst the trees. Legolas closed the gap between them and began speaking to them, though Estel couldn't make out a word of it.

Leaning against a nearby tree, taking advantage of the moments rest, he slid his eyes shut and crossed his arms. It didn't make much of a difference, his vision was still dull and it was horribly dark as it was. After a moment he felt a light touch on his shoulder and his eyes snapped open. He blinked into focus, surprised to find Legolas rather than one of his brothers standing next to him. Without a word, they turned and the group trudged on after them, happy to be getting close to home.

The walk was probably longer than it felt, but it was easy to zone out when you couldn't focus in the first place. I felt like sleep walking in a way... only you knew you were doing it, you just didn't care. Estel didn't really come to until he realized they were already inside the gates. The sound of thick wood and metal gates thunking back into place startled him into awareness.

"Welcome back," Elladan murmured, eyeing his brother, "we were beginning to wonder if you were going to fall over."

"We've been taking bets. I had faith in you brother," Elrohir chuckled.

"I honestly believed he would snap out of it when you two started talking about it." Legolas hid his amusement behind a thoughtful expression.

Estel snorted indignantly, "I'm quite good at staying on my feet, thank you. And I've grown highly adept at tuning these two out."

Legolas grinned, "You're going to have to teach me that trick, I still can't manage it." He led the three brothers - the other elves having vanished already - towards the guest rooms. He pushed a door open and ushered them inside, "I'll have a healer come see to you in a moment."

The blonde elf disappeared before any of them could answer. They glanced at each other, and Estel finally shrugged and dropped himself into a chair in the corner. Heaving a sigh of relief he yawned and stretched, ignoring the irony of fully getting his senses back only to realize how exhausted he was. It was good to be out of the woods, the air felt cleaner here. And there was a wonderful lack of spiders. That was always a plus. Relaxing into the chair, which was big enough to dwarf him, he let his eyes shut. He was admittedly uncomfortable here. At least at home it was younger elves he always got the teasing and prodding from, the elder ones had accepted him - for the most part - as one of them. These elves... it was nothing short of contempt he felt from them and it made him nervous. He didn't like feeling on edge around them, but he did. As though if he let his guard down he'd be in as much danger as if he were out in the forest alone.

Elladan and Elrohir remained silent. Neither could tell if their brother was sleeping or not, and neither wished to disturb him. When the healer did come, he checked Elrohir's leg and, frowning, declared there was nothing to be done other than binding it properly and giving it time. Elrohir, annoyed by his tone, politely told the elf where he should go when his impromptu crutch was very nearly snapped in two and tossed into the fire. Out of spite, he insisted on keeping it and refused the one he was offered.

Clearly frustrated, the healer turned to Estel and paused a moment, a thinly veiled look of annoyance on his face before he unwrapped the bandaging around the bite. The wound was red, and the healer seemed at a loss for whether that was normal for humans or not. Elladan swiftly labeled him incompetent.

At this point Estel sighed and finally opened his eyes, piercing first the healer, then the twins with a withering glare. The healer very nearly dropped the rag he'd been using to clean the wound and leaned back, having thought he had passed out again from the venom.

"Right," Estel muttered, "first, the wound is fine, all it needs is to be cleaned out. Second," he paused to level his brothers with another glare, "there's no need to be difficult, especially considering we're guests here, and not invited ones either."

Both twins looked properly chagrined at the reminder, though whether the look was simply to keep their brother from continuing to scold them as though they were children or they truly were ashamed of their behaviour, it was difficult to tell.

The young man looked as though he were considering adding more to his statement but thought better of it. He fell silent until the healer left, looking faintly disturbed by how completely he had fallen for this humans little act. Estel watched him leave, then glanced back at his brothers.

"He was awfully rude though."

Elrohir raised an eyebrow, "Indeed. Hence our actions. I'm sorry Estel, but you know we can't stand for anyone treating you that way."

Estel shook his head, smiling, "Don't worry about it."

Any further conversation was interrupted by a soft knock on the door and one of the palace servants lead the twins to their own rooms. Having to convince his brothers that he was perfectly fine alone, Estel heaved himself out of the armchair only to drop onto the bed without missing a beat. Falling asleep the second he was settled, he managed to get a good nights rest.

He woke to the sound of the door opening. Immediately on edge he lay still, breathing deeply, feigning sleep. He heard whoever had entered the room settle themselves in the chair but otherwise heard nothing. No footsteps, breathing... nothing. He never did hear anything from the elves. It frustrated him. Finally, he cracked an eye open and smiled, relaxing when he caught sight of the elven prince.

"Awake already?" Legolas' voice sounded worried, and he made no effort to hide it. "You should get more sleep. You looked terrible yesterday."

Estel sat up and snorted, "Thanks. I feel perfectly normal though, no need to worry."

The elf didn't look convinced, never-the-less, he nodded, "If you're sure." He watched the man for a moment, examining him, "You really have changed a lot, you know."

"I should hope so," Estel joked, "I've no mind to stay a child forever."

"I suppose not." Legolas frowned slightly, and the young man shut his mouth, feeling suddenly uneasy.

"Is something wrong? I haven't said anything inappropriate have I?" Estel wracked his brain over everything he had said or done since the Prince had shown up, but much of it was a blur and he couldn't be certain he hadn't said something dumb.

"No, no. Nothing's wrong. It is odd, is all. It's only been three years and you're very nearly a different person." Legolas tilted his head to the side. Such a short time... and he had grown so much. Strange... he knew humans had a short life span but it had never really hit him until now.

"Not at all." Estel blinked, "I am who I am. I'm the same person you taught basic marksmanship to. If it bothers you, don't feel like you have to speak to me, I know the prospect of my mortality disturbs some people." His voice was gentle, he didn't say it to be cruel, just stating a fact and offering the elf a way out.

Said elf swallowed, uncomfortable. He didn't even wish to think on the subject. "No. It doesn't bother me, it's simply that..." He trailed off, frowning, what was it that was bothering him...?

"Ah, no matter," Estel relieved him of the need to finish his sentence, and a smirk passed over his face momentarily, "I just mature faster than you elves. I finally found something I can do better."

"Other than getting yourself into trouble?"

Estel jumped slightly at the new voice and smiled innocently at his brother, "That goes without saying. I meant I finally found something _positive_."

Elladan sighed and stepped into the room, crossing the short distance to cuff his younger brother, "What have I said about putting yourself down like that?"

"To not to?" Estel rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, "I'm only joking around."

"Sure you are, brother." The elf crossed his arms and glanced over to Legolas, who looked caught between amusement and worry. "He's a right pain, this one. We're sorry about yesterday, 'Las. We didn't have any other option with 'Ro the way he is, and there were an awfully large number of orcs between us and Lorien. Oh! Speaking of which..." Not giving the elven Prince a chance to reply he turned to his brother, pulling three small stones with markings on them from a pocket and dropped them into Estel's palm.

The young human peered at them dejectedly and shrugged, "Alright, you win. Next time, though... next time I'll lose you." He waved a finger at his brother in mock seriousness and laughed, tossing the stones into the air a couple times.

Elladan smirked, "We'll see about that. You're a hundred years too young to best us yet."

Legolas simply raised an eyebrow at the display.

"I was supposed to get here without their being able to follow my trail. Then they'd give me a couple tips and we'd do it again on the way to Lothlorien."

"So the stones...?" The blonde elf had to admit he was interested in their method in training their little brother.

"Ah. They knew the destination, so it's just a way to make sure they followed me rather than just heading here and waiting." Estel eyed his brother, who was now smiling all too innocently. Abruptly, the young man's face grew serious, as though something very important had only just occurred to him, "'Dan, I need to talk to you about something... that I don't quite understand."

Elladan's face went blank and he glanced at Legolas, "I'm sorry... do you mind if I have a word with my brother alone for a moment?"

Legolas blinked at the sudden change and stood, shaking his head, "Not at all." He smiled and quickly left the room, trying to wrap his mind around what just happened.

Estel watched him go and frowned, waiting for his brother to start before he leapt into what he wanted to say.

"Dreams?"

"Yeah." He nodded, unsurprised that the elf already knew what he wanted to speak to him about.

Elladan sat next to his brother and stuck him with a questioning look, "Do you want me to get Elrohir?"

"No, I don't want to bother more people than necessary." Estel shook his head sharply, "I don't think... the patrol that was taken last time we were here... they didn't kill them. They're alive." He watched his brother tense, his eyes widen just a fraction.

"They're alive? You're certain?" His voice was strained, between relief and horror.

"...I think so. I can never be certain of anything I see but..." Estel shook his head slightly, "I felt their pain, 'Dan... the humiliation..."

"Where are they Estel?"

"I'm not... In a human town, but I can't know which... I've never been there." The young man shut his eyes, trying to remember some sort of detail that could help. He'd had dreams like this before. Visions. Not many, and he usually couldn't figure out what they meant, but this one was strangely clear in comparison to most of the others. "It's not far from here... it can't be, I can see the forest in the background... and the mountains are to the right. It's small... not a town, a camp. They look like they've been travelling."

"Get your things together. We're going. Now." Elladan stood and made for the doorway, pausing to glance back at his brother, "I'll let Elrohir know what's going on and meet you in the courtyard."

Estel's reply was to jump to his feet and immediately go about strapping his sword to his side. "Go, I'll be ready."

**A/N**

**Hello Anyone There: .... okay T_T**

**I'M SORRY D:**

**For both the intensely long wait AND the poor writing... I haven't written much since I stopped this, so I'm sure it's gotten worse...**

***cough*... I think in your last review you said something about my updates at least being more frequent than some others... I'm guessing that's not so true anymore :P You tempted fate you know, saying that, haha**


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